Swept Up by the Tides
by Seerysly
Summary: Five years passed since Link and Zelda defeated Ganon.  The two returned to the surface waters to find the new Hyrule, only to part ways.  After searching the seas, Link has finally found his pirate girl, but the bond they used to have is almost gone. L/T


**Title: **Swept Up by the Tides

**Author:** Seerysly (OverFlowingBox)

**Pairing: **Tetra/Link, Zelda/Link

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not based on the events of Phantom Hourglass. This is my own imagined idea for a sort of sequel to Wind Waker and is by no means canon. Tetra and Link are around the ages of nineteen or twenty, assuming that they were around the age fifteen in Wind Waker. Finally, I know Link does not speak, but if he could speak, I would imagine him to speak in the manner I have written.

Swept Up by the Tides

Droplets of water plummeted from the sky. Each one landed one an eyelash, or directly in his eye, for that matter, making his ability to see almost zero. Wind whipped at his blonde hair and tugged at his green hat, and the spray of the sea stung his face. Lightning crashed through the sky; the jagged silhouette of Windfall Island flickered against the horizon, backlit by the flaming bolts of lightning tearing through the night sky. The young man clad in green sighed with relief. _I'm almost there_, he thought to himself. Soon enough, he would find himself in a warm room adjacent to the bar, with a blazing, crackling fire in the stone hearth and a thick, downy blanket over top of him as he would drift off to sleep on a soft, warm mattress. The man closed his stinging eyes at the thought of it.

Another blazing bolt shot across the sky. The sea bucked violently and the boy felt himself hurtle towards the bow of his small, red boat. He scrambled to grab onto something stable, barely catching himself before he flew out of the boat and into the icy water. "You okay there, boy?" a man's voice shouted gruffly. It was only just audible over the roar of the sea, but as the young man regained his balance in the unsteady boat in the violent waters and glanced up to where the island was, he saw that he was only about ten yards from the dock. An old sailor, a merchant and local of Windfall, stood at the edge of the jerking platform, the wind whipping his dark hair out of the sleek ponytail at the back of his neck and around his face. The boy in green cleared his throat.

"Fine, sir!" he shouted back over the howling wind. The old man cupped his hands around his mouth and breathed in deep.

"Throw me a rope!" he bellowed. The sea bucked and kicked under the small boat, and the boy almost tumbled into the water again as he struggled to reach the single rope he owned near the bow of the boat. His fingers grazed over top of the rough rope that had seen better days, and he grabbed it as tightly as he could and tugged to towards himself. Turning back to the dock, he tossed the rope with all his strength against the wind, towards the old man. The rope splashed in the water, but the man was able to dive onto his stomach and grasp the rope before it sunk into the water. He quickly stood and began hoisting the rope out of the water, dragging the small, red boat and the green-clad boy with it. Finally, the young man was able to clamber out of the boat, help the old man tie up the boat at the dock, and turn to his newfound friend to shake his hand.

"Thank you, sir," the boy yelled over the wind, grasping the man's hand, who, as the boy discovered, was not really old at all.

"My pleasure. Let's head inside!" the man replied in a loud shout. Putting an arm around the boy's shoulders, the two scuttled across the dock, under Windfall's great archway, up the path and stairs to the bar. The man kicked open the door, and hustled the two of them in, rain water splashing in and spraying the bar's patrons closest to the door. Inside, the man removed his jacket, and the boy began to wring out his green hat and tunic. Water splashed across the floor.

"Really now, you couldn't just sit yourself down by the fire to dry?" a plump, young woman asked. Her frizzy red hair was falling out of its bun around her round, red face, and her blue dress was wrinkled from the work behind the bar. She had a handkerchief in her hand as she knelt down to mop up the water the boy had wrung out of his clothes.

"Relax, Gillian," the man said. "This young sailor had quite the journey. We're going to take a seat. Bring us whatever you got," the old man continued. Gillian straightened herself up, huffed unhappily, and bustled back around to the other side of the bar.

The inside of the building was quiet, however, it was packed with people. Most were rugged sailors and merchants, but many were also local shopkeepers trying to escape the howling storm. Smoke from cigars clung to the ceiling like banners, and the only light came from flickering candles on the tables. The man led the boy through the crowded room to an empty table near the middle of the cramped space. The two sat down and Gillian bustled over with two mugs filled with a steaming liquid. She set one in front of the blonde and the other in front of the brunette man and then hurried back behind the counter without a word. The man took a swig of his drink and set it back down on the wooden table. "So, what's your name, kid?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. The boy sniffed cautiously at his drink. It smelled sweet and chocolatey. Hot cocoa. He took a small sip. The sweet drink burned his tongue and he set the mug quickly back down on the table.

"Link," he replied, pushing the hot cocoa away from him. The man held out his hand and Link grasped it tightly from his side of the table.

"Kane," the man said, removing his hand from Link's and pushing back the limp, dark hair from his face. "What brings you out on the ocean in a storm such as this, boy?" he asked, eyeing the boy, one eyebrow raised.

"It's a long story," Link replied, leaning back against the hard, wooden back of his chair. Thunder cracked over the bar, and what little murmur of conversations that could be heard throughout the room were died down. Every eye was trained to the small windows as waves crashed against the side of the island, spraying the glass with cold water. The silence lasted for several minutes, until, one by one, conversations began picking up, each slightly louder than the other. Soon, the bar was filled with a thunderous roar of talk.

"We haven't had a storm this bad in years! It makes us all nervous," Kane remarked, "but anyway, about your story."

Link sighed and glanced out the window. "As I said, sir, it's a long story."

"We've got plenty of time," Kane countered. The boy in green gazed at his new companion for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"It started five years ago. Back home on Outset Island. My sister, Aryll, was mistaken for another girl and was kidnapped. This other girl, her name is Tetra, is who I came here looking for. Anyway, I stowed away on her ship. . ."

"Miss Tetra! Are you alright?" the strong, tall man asked breathlessly as he skidded to a halt in the wide doorway. Inside the room, a small, slender, young woman tried to pull herself out from underneath an overturned bookshelf.

"Gonzo!" she screeched, stretching her hand out towards him. "Help me out of here!"

The muscular pirate scrambled across the room, landing heavily on his knees and grasping his leader's hand. He tugged gently, or at least tried to, but Tetra's only reply was to groan in pain. Another muscular pirate appeared behind Gonzo.

"Senza!" Gonzo cried, "lift up this bookshelf and help the Miss out!"

Senza hurried over to the bookshelf and hoisted it up. The wooden shelves creaked laboriously as they slowly left the ground. Senza pushed the shelves back into place against the wall, then turned to his leader. Gonzo was helping her up, pushing her blonde hair out of her face, and straightening her nightgown. "Are you alright, Miss?" he asked softly, holding her tightly. The young woman sighed deeply and closed her eyes. A moment later, she pushed herself away from her first mate and stood, wincing.

"Just a bruising, nothing bad," she replied. She stepped carefully around the broken glass of a picture frame that once held the picture of her mother and bent down to pick up the crinkled photo. As she straightened herself, a bright, hot pang shot through her ribs, causing her to lurch forward. She barely managed to catch herself against the wooden wall when she realized that her arm was almost completely numb. Tetra squeezed her eyes shut. _This is a disaster_, she thought to herself, but pushed herself upward. As she turned back to her underlings, she found their gazes trained upon her. "Please leave," she said softly. The two pirates looked at each other confusedly, but Senza shrugged and shuffled out of the room.

"Miss, are you sure you're okay?" Gonzo pressed. But Tetra shook her head.

"Leave, Gonzo. I'm fine. I'll be asleep. Wake me when we reach Windfall," she ordered. Gonzo backed slowly away from her, keeping his dark eyes locked on the blonde woman. Finally, he turned on his heel and left. Tetra sighed, letting all the air gush out of her lungs. She teetered towards her huge bed, on which she climbed cautiously, squirming at each jolt of pain that lashed through her side. The storm outside rocked the ship violently, and the bookshelf creaked under the strain of the disturbance. Tetra forced her eyelids closed. But it would be hours before the young pirate would drift into an uneasy sleep.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not based on the events of Phantom Hourglass. This is my own imagined idea for a sort of sequel to Wind Waker and is by no means canon. Tetra and Link are around the ages of nineteen or twenty, assuming that they were around the age fifteen in Wind Waker. Finally, I know Link does not speak, but if he could speak, I would imagine him to speak in the manner I have written.

**A/N:**I apologize for several things. The first being I'm sorry for placing the "important note" twice in this story. I want my point to be put across, so please, don't comment on "Link doesn't speak!" or "That's not what happened in Phantom Hourglass". Seriously, I beg you! Secondly, I'm sorry for being gone so long. For all the readers who have come from Daisy Chains, I may or may not continue the story, so I apologize for that as well. Finally, I'm sorry if this note came off as rude, that was not my intention.

So summer vacation is finally here and my vacation goal is to keep up with at least two fics. This one is most definitely one that I'll keep writing. I've been dying to write a Tetra/Link fic for ages, basically since I got Wind Waker three years ago (I think it was three years ago…). So I finally picked myself up and wrote the fic! I hope it was enjoyed and I hope that everyone who reads it is excited for future chapters!

By the way, I will most likely be changing my name to a more meaningful and sentimental username: Seerysly. Expect the change sometime soon. Thanks to all readers!


End file.
